Operation Christmas Child accepting shoebox gifts in November
Published 10:40 am Wednesday, October 28, 2020
- Boxes with gifts for Operation Christmas Child sit at the front of Stanfield Baptist Church where they were prayed over in the weeks leading up to National Collection Week in November 2019.
PENDLETON — More than 4,000 locations will now offer a curbside drop-off option for the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child. Volunteers are preparing to collect shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, Nov. 16-23.
Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoebox gifts — filled with school supplies, hygiene items and fun toys — to children worldwide for more than two decades. This is a project that everyone can still be a part of, even with COVID-19 restrictions.
There’s still time for individuals, families, and groups to transform empty shoeboxes into fun gifts. The project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need. Find a step-by-step guide on How to Pack a Shoebox at https://samaritanspurse.org/.
“In the midst of the pandemic, the needs are greater than ever before,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Children around the world need to know that God loves them and there is hope. A simple shoebox gift opens the door to share about the true hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Local drop-off locations include New Hope Community Church, 1350 S. Highway 395, Hermiston; Calvary Chapel, 1909 S.W. Athens Ave., Pendleton, and 1433 Jefferson Ave., La Grande; and Trinity Baptist Church, 595 Abbot Road, Walla Walla, Washington. Drop-off dates and times vary by location.
Visit www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/drop-off-locations/ and search by city or ZIP code. Signs at each location will identify the curbside drop-off.
Those interested in more information on how Operation Christmas Child is making adjustments during its National Collection Week can visit the organization’s Important COVID-19 Updates webpage for the latest information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 178 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
